·It roots us more deeply as children of God
·It unites us more firmly to Christ
·It increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us
·It strengthens our ties to the Church
·It encourages us to faithfully live, spread, and defend our faith
Through an outpouring of special gifts of the Holy Spirit, Confirmation completes the grace of Baptism by confirming or “sealing” the baptized person’s union with Christ and by equipping that person for active participation in the life of the Church.
Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation, together constitute the Sacraments of Christian initiation. The Sacraments are a matter of celebration between God and individual, Church and individual, and the community of believers and individual. Therefore, “preparation for Confirmation should aim at leading the Christian towards more intimate union with Christ and a more lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit. Further, this catechesis should strive to awaken a sense of belonging to the universal church and to the parish community.” The objectives of our Confirmation preparation program for each individual relies heavily on an examination and growing awareness of their Baptismal call and a consistent reliance on the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist to assist them on their journey.
At St. Thomas More Parish,
the Confirmation program is a two-year journey toward deepening ones knowledge
of the Catholic faith through catechesis, deepening ones spiritual relationship
with Jesus Christ through prayer and worship and growing in discipleship by
following the call of Jesus to serve His people through Christian Service.
In making a decision to join the program, candidates must be prepared to commit
themselves to actively participate in both the academic and spiritual components
of the program as well as following all of the established policies. Parents
and students must honestly seek to use the program as a means to discover
and experience the great truths of God and the Roman Catholic Church.
The specific components and policies of the St. Thomas More Parish Confirmation
program are fully outlined and explained in the 'Program
Summary' section. Many of the points above are reiterated and explained
further.
The vibrancy
of a parish community is dependent on ALL of its member's sharing their time,
talent and treasure with one another. One of the gifts of a vibrant parish
community is an awareness of not only our individual relationships with God
and His Church but also with one another. God sends out to all of us an invitation
to Mass each week, so that we may join together with Him in a sacred celebration
of His life, love and spirit being alive in the world and in each of us. As
candidates for Confirmation, it is important to realize that during your two-
years of preparation, your attendance at Mass and your participation in the
Sacraments feed and drive the growth of your relationships with each member
of the parish and the Church worldwide. Through your participation you are
able to share with the community the special gifts that God gave to you while
at the same time sharing in the special gifts He gave to the community around
you. We all, as a community, bring life to the parish when we are truly active
members. When we have a relationship with our parish and the people in it,
we begin to see our importance to the life and vibrancy of the Church. It
is vital that you respond to God's invitation every Sunday, so that your special
gifts can be shared with and felt by the community. Come and see!
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Parents
effectively participate in the program by actively developing their own spiritual
life, by partaking in the spiritual life of the parish, by supporting the
formal program of sacramental preparation, and by witnessing their faith in
the example they set for their children. Parents have the primary responsibility
for the overall spiritual upbringing of their child and in this case, specifically
preparing their child for reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation. The
program assists and supports the parents in fulfilling their role.
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Choosing A Name For Confirmation
Q: WHAT
IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHOOSING A NAME FOR CONFIRMATION AND HOW DO I CHOOSE
AN APPROPRIATE NAME?
A: As you all have experienced, before taking an exam, especially a mid-term
or a final, you are always reminded before you even read the directions for
the exam to print your name at the top. Names are central to our identity
and our history. We were all given a Baptismal name that among other things
represents the story of the relationship God began with us on the day we were
baptized. Since Confirmation seals God’s grace received in Baptism,
choosing to keep your Baptismal name for Confirmation is a living sign of
the unity between Baptism and Confirmation and our ever-growing commitment
to Christ. If you have a desire to choose a different name for Confirmation,
it must be a name selected from the list of saints (Click
Here For A List Of Saints). One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which
you will fully receive at Confirmation, is the courage to make good choices
that will help you to live an authentic Christian life. The saints are prime
examples of authentic Christian living. Authentic Christian living
begins with an awareness and acknowledgement of our abilities and limitations
that we all live with as a result of our humanity. Striving to live a Christian
life in the way God calls us to live coupled with our acknowledgement of our
humanity leads us to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ where we trust
in Him to continue to nurture our abilities and conquer our limitations. In
a word, authentic Christian living is unwavering faith in God, sharing our
entire lives with Him. When we draw from the living Spirit of God
within us, we are called into deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, a relationship
that is nurtured through an active life of prayer, worship, study and Christian
action. Believe it or not, even the saints struggled in their lives the same
way we all do. It was their lives of authenticity that did not allow them
to give up on themselves and therefore give up on God when they struggled.
If you choose to pick another name, take time to learn about the saint attached
to the name you choose. Try to pick the name of a saint whose life demonstrates
certain characteristics that you would like to develop in your own life.
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Choosing A Sponsor For Confirmation
Q:WHAT
IS THE ROLE OF A CONFIRMATION SPONSOR?
A: Choosing a sponsor for the Sacrament of Confirmation is an essential aspect
of your preparation. Among the Church guidelines for choosing a sponsor, which
will be highlighted later in this section, for Confirmation, it is extremely
important to keep the word "preparation" in mind when deciding on
a sponsor. In all cases of preparation, whether it is for a sporting contest,
an exam, an interview or a Sacrament, you want to surround yourself with resources,
books and people (depending on what you are preparing for) to assist you by
sharing truth and experience with you. If you wanted to try out for the basketball
team, you wouldn’t want to practice with and take advice from someone
who has never played the sport in his or her life. Nor would you want to consult
someone about a difficult math problem if they had no interest or talent in
math. In both cases you would seek someone who worked at, had experience in
and had a dedication to those areas. The same is true for a Confirmation sponsor.
A Confirmation sponsor should be someone who seeks to actively develop his/her
own spiritual life by partaking in the spiritual life of the Catholic Church.
The Sponsor should offer support to you by living a life of faith and action
centered on Jesus Christ, by praying for you and showing interest in and support
for your Spiritual development. You want to choose a sponsor who will guide
you, share their story of faith with you and practice the faith with you.
Most importantly, choose someone who has a faith life you admire.
GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING A SPONSOR:
- It is desirable for the Confirmation candidate to invite one of their Baptismal
godparents to be their sponsor. However, if a candidate chooses, they may
select another person other than a godparent to be their sponsor.
- To be admitted to the role of sponsor, a person must (From Can 874, n.1):
o Be at least sixteen years of age
o Be a Catholic who has been confirmed, already received the sacrament of
the Most Holy Eucharist and leads a life in harmony with the faith and the
role to be undertaken
o Not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared
o Not be the father or mother of the one to be confirmed
Q: WHAT IF I CAN’T FIND ANYONE TO BE MY SPONSOR?
A: It is best for you to find your own sponsor because of the personal dynamic
that is already present when you select someone for who you care and have
a relationship. However, if you are unable to find a person who can fulfill
the role of sponsor, we can help you find a sponsor from the parish. Be sure
to let us know immediately if you are having difficulty selecting a sponsor.
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Q: WHAT
IS CHRISTIAN SERVICE ALL ABOUT?
A: “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have
loved you.” (John 15:12) When we listen to these words spoken by Jesus
in the Gospel of John, it causes us to stop and ask the question “How
did Jesus love?” If we take some time to answer this question we come
up with things like, Jesus loved through forgiving, healing and curing, visiting,
feeding, clothing, teaching, listening and welcoming other people. Once we
come upon some of these answers of how Jesus loved, it's important to realize
that it is as much about how Jesus loved as it is with what Jesus loved. Jesus
loved with His whole life because he recognized life as a gift from God fitted
with a purpose from God. If Jesus commands us to love as he loved us, as he
does in the above Gospel quote, it means He knows we all have those two special
gifts from God that He had which makes loving as He did possible; the gift
of life from God and the love of God that gives that life a purpose. We have
life to serve God and we have His love to serve one another. Christian service
is at the heart of our faith because we are followers of Jesus, the great
servant. This is what Christian service is all about. Jesus is the way, the
truth and the life. He is our salvation. If we are to accept this wondrous
gift of salvation from Jesus, we must have faith in Him. To have faith in
Him is to follow Him in service to our brothers and sisters.
Q: WHY IS CHRISTIAN SERVICE A REQUIRED PART OF OUR CONFIRMATION PREPARATION?
A: Remember, when you receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, you are also
being fully initiated into the Church community. To be an active member of
a community you must put your life into action with and for others in order
for the community to thrive. As you move toward closer union with Jesus and
His Church preparing for Confirmation, it is an important and appropriate
time to begin putting your life and faith into action through service. The
Christian service requirement marks the beginning of your life long commitment
to serve in Jesus’ name.
Q: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMMUNITY SERVICE AND CHRISTIAN SERVICE?
A: Christian Service is different from community service. While both are noble,
one develops spiritual virtue and the other deals with civic virtue. Similarly,
one is a personal response to faith and God’s call while the other promotes
good social order. Christian Service is a response to the specific calls from
the Christian Scriptures to model our lives on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, Christian Service is seen through the examples and concrete teachings
of Christ. It is action done in the name of Jesus Christ because he instructed
his followers to do these actions. Christian Service is the attempt by the
follower of Christ to use the gifts that God has given to internalize and
respond to the Gospel message in the place where s/he currently finds her/himself.
Christian Service is done to deepen one's faith, to share the good news of
the Gospel, and to share the gifts that God has given. It is not done to strengthen
a college application or a resume, to thwart boredom, to earn money or accolades,
nor to meet the basic requirements and obligations of family or community
membership.
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Simply,
the Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is the third personage in one of the
greatest mysteries of our faith, the Holy Trinity. Like God the Father and
God the Son, the Holy Spirit is part of everything that God is and does. Due
to the limitations of our language to accurately place a description of God
and in this case God, the Holy Spirit, you often hear the Sprit described
as like the wind or fire. It is important to go beyond those descriptive words
in our reflections of the Holy Sprit and realize that the Holy Spirit is not
an ethereal thing that kind of floats around within us composed of nothing
more than smoke or gas. The Holy Spirit is composed of the life, love and
knowledge of both God the father and God the Son. As described by Jesus in
the Gospel of John, the Spirit is alive and fully present filled with the
Truth and purpose for our lives.
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be
with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides
with you, and he will be in you….The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you
of all that I have said to you.” (John 14:16-17,26) When we read this
part of John’s Gospel, Jesus uses so many beautiful phrases and one
comforting word to describe the Holy Spirit. Reflect on the phrases, “Spirit
of truth”, “to be with you forever”, “He abides with
you and He will be in you”, “will teach you everything, and remind
you of all that I have said to you.”, and the one word “Advocate”.
Within all of these phrases we are told that the Holy Spirit is the continuation
of the life laid down for us in Jesus Christ and thus the continuation of
God’s plan for us. In one word, Advocate, the Holy Spirit is revealed
as God in action defending and promoting the truth of God and the life of
Jesus while at the same time giving our lives a purpose by living within us
and promoting that purpose.
The Gifts & Fruits Of The Holy Spirit
Seven Gifts Of The Holy Spirit:
o Wisdom – the ability to see things as they truly
are in an open-minded manner
o Understanding – the sensitivity needed to accept,
care, listen, understand, forgive
o Right Judgement – the ability to make good and wise
decisions
o Courage – the strength to do what is right in spite
of challenges
o Knowledge – the ability to comprehend the truths
of the universe
o Reverence – a deep respect for God, for others, and
for all creation
o Wonder and Awe – a sense of the greatness and majesty
of God coupled with a deep realization of God’s nearness
Nine
Fruits Of The Holy Spirit
o Love
o Joy
o Peace
o Patience
o Kindness
o Generosity
o Faithfulness
o Gentleness
o Self-Control
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